ANTHONY JOSHUA obliterated Francis Ngannou in two sensational rounds to cement his place back in the heavyweight world title race.
The same man who took Tyson Fury the 10-round distance on his boxing debut in October – and dropped the WBC Gypsy King- never laid a glove on our 34-year-old superstar.
AJ was punch-perfect, calm and measured while also being ruthless and savage, putting the former UFC star on the ground twice before delivering the knockout punch.
Ngannou leaped up off the Riyadh canvas twice initially but he needed an age to recover from the final blow that almost took his swede-like head clean off.
He was subsequently given oxygen after being helped to his corner.
After he was finally back on his feet, Joshua told the cameras: “It is what it is.
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“On the route to the championship you should always stay focused and I had to step away from the mission. I thought it was just a gimmick for the broadcasters.
“When I saw the fight with Tyson Fury I thought damn this guy can fight, I want a piece of that.
“I wanted to welcome him and this does not take anything away from him, he can come again.
“I am still learning and pushing, I don’t know if I am coming into my peak, if that was me down there you would be saying ‘Anthony Joshua should retire’.
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“In five years I will be finished fighting and sitting down and all this will be a distant memory.
“I am going to go back and lock myself in my cage and they can let me out when they want me to fight. I just want to fight.”
Before the anthems and introductions – around 3:30am local time, with the British boxing press starting to worry about catching their Saturday flights home – AJ dropped to his knees in his red corner and prayed.
Then the London 2012 legend prowled around the ring while ‘Predator’ Ngannou stood dead still in his blue portion of the Riyadh arena.
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AJ got right on his textbook jab from the off, prodding at the 37-year-old’s giant torso and head.
The Cameroon giant threw lead left hooks – which he told us he knew had caused AJ problems throughout his amateur and pro career.
And then suddenly AJ detonated an excellent right hand that smashed Ngannou down to the canvas and almost out for the count.
The boxing novice seemed finished but he showed huge heart – to match his muscles – to climb back up and survive the remaining 45 seconds, that must have felt like a lifetime.
And Ngannou was floored again in the second by a violent right-hand-left-hook but bravely beat the count for a second time.
But he bounced up off the canvas too quick and AJ knocked him into a different dimension with a sickening shot that folded his giant leg in half and forced the referee to wave the one-sided demolition off – without even wasting his breath on a count.
For a fight that was all about pitting kings of MMA and boxing against each other, the front row was pure football royalty.
AJ’s walkout – for a former bricklayer who says he only does the razzamatazz for the paying fans – was more Siegfried and Roy than bricks and mortar.
Not bad for a man who said in the build-up: “It’s not how you walk in, it’s how you walk out.
“That’s my opinion. But at the same time, I do know it’s not for me, it’s for the crowd. I only do it for the crowd.
“I’ve walked in with no music before. It is a job. You want to get in there and do your job at the end of the day.”
And he clocked off early – without evening doing a six minute shift – smashing the MMA man back into his rightful place.
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And he can now wait patiently to see how Fury and Oleksandr Usyk – the man who snatched the WBA, IBF and WBO world titles off of him in two painful points losses – pans out on May 18.
Because Joshua – on the back of this showing and the October annihilation of Otto Wallin – is now back to brilliant and brutal best.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
